Ares Strategic Mining announced Tuesday that it has officially commenced a four-week commissioning program for its Metallurgical Lumps Plant located in Delta, Utah. The company confirmed the entire processing plant has been powered up and is operating as one fully integrated system to prepare for upcoming commercial production.
Integrated Plant Testing Underway
The commissioning process marks a significant operational milestone for the Vancouver-based company. According to a press release from Ares Strategic Mining, the plant is designed to process ore from the company's Lost Sheep Mine into metallurgical-grade fluorspar lumps, also known as metspar. This specific product is primarily intended for supply to the United States steel industries.
James Walker, President and CEO of Ares Strategic Mining, described the event as an incredibly rewarding milestone that reflects years of engineering, construction, and planning. He noted that the company's current focus is centered on successfully completing the commissioning phase to move toward active production.
Technical Verification Processes
Over the next several weeks, the company will execute a comprehensive program of integrated testing across all plant systems. These activities are designed to verify performance and optimize operations before the facility reaches full commercial capacity. The technical testing includes verifying complete process flows from the initial ore feed through to the finished product.
Engineers will also test programmable logic controller (PLC) control systems and human-machine interfaces (HMI). The program involves monitoring and optimizing critical operating parameters, such as material flows, pressures, and temperatures. Additionally, the company will validate alarm systems, diagnostics, and automated sequences for both start-up and shutdown procedures.
A portion of the testing will focus on the crushing and drying processes to ensure that the resulting fluorspar meets specific metallurgical-grade customer specifications.
Production Timeline and Offtake Agreements
As the commissioning program progresses, Ares will transport fluorspar ore that has been stockpiled at the Lost Sheep Mine to the Delta processing facility. This stockpile will support both the testing phases and the initial production runs. The company has announced that it expects the ramp-up of production to begin on August 15, 2026.
In this context, the ramp-up refers to increasing the feed into the plant until it reaches its full production potential. To support this transition, the company noted that commercial offtake agreements are already in place, covering the expected initial metspar production for the first five years of operation.
Capacity for Future Growth
The Lumps Plant features a designed processing capacity of approximately 150,000 tonnes per annum. Ares Strategic Mining stated that this capacity was intentionally built to extend beyond the company's initial mining rate, providing a platform for future growth and supporting increased mine output from the Lost Sheep Project and the wider Spor Mountain Range.
The company aims to use this infrastructure to support its objective of establishing a secure United States supply of fluorspar, which is considered a critical mineral. The Lost Sheep Fluorspar Project itself covers 5,982 acres and includes 353 claims located in the Spor Mountain area of Juab County, Utah, roughly 214 kilometers southwest of Salt Lake City.
Permitting and Project Background
The Lost Sheep project is fully permitted, including necessary mining permits. The company's mining plan was previously approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with historical approvals dating back to August 24, 1992, under Area Manager Rex Rowley, and a renewal on December 12, 2016, by Minerals Program Manager Paul B. Baker.
Ares Strategic Mining continues to focus on the development of its fluorspar projects within the United States, targeting high-grade supply for North American markets vital to modern infrastructure and technology.
